Every year over the holidays Mark and I start organizing! This starts by going room to room to look at what we have there. Do we use the items? Are they simply creating clutter? Are these items we will use again? For example in our closets we examine each item of clothing for any damage, if we wore it in the past six months and if the fit is no longer good. If the piece of clothing fits in any of those categories, it’s time to go! This is a really easy way to work through your wardrobe. In a storage closet we might look at similar categories, is there any damage, does the item work properly and do we use it consistently.

Once we are finished going through all of the rooms, we obviously still have clothing, household items and office supplies to store. Over the past couple years we have not been very good at storing items or organizing our closet very well. This past year we stepped up our organization, and this has made a HUGE difference. Every item or piece of clothing or towel has a home, most likely hidden away so it’s not creating clutter. I didn’t realize how much clutter stressed me out!

3 EASY WAYS TO GET ORGANIZED

Use a container for smaller items

This one changed my life! I realize it seems so simple but until I actually tried it, I had no idea. The containers I added to specific spaces were; two matching round containers in our bathroom, one for q-tips and the other for cotton pads. This eliminated having to keep them under the counter and no need to hunt for them every time, they were easy to access; A little dish on my bedside table for all my small jewelry, this lessens the chance they will be tangled and I can easily find the piece I want to wear each morning; And small bowl on our entryway table for keys or sunglasses, all of those items that end up scattered around the house, now it’s easier to find what we are looking for.

Add baskets to closets and shelving

Baskets have also been a life saver for us. Having a bigger home now, we have more closets, items for guests and a place for all of our office supplies. I added baskets to our guest closet to organize all of the smaller towels. This organizes the closet but also makes it look really clean for guests. Our office recently had a mini makeover, more to come on Budget but Beautiful! Adding baskets into our office storage has made all the difference. I can easily find tape or paper or crafting materials, no need to dig through a drawer or search for the items I am looking for.

Label everything

The last thing you want to do is purchase baskets, jars and storage for your home, then have no idea where anything is located. I organized our home office and then had to search each basket to find what I was looking for. Didn’t really seem like a time saver. I have an easy DIY coming up this month on Budget but Beautiful I can’t wait to share! It will help with all your organization. Label however works best for you. In our pantry I used a label maker. Then it wouldn’t come off when cooking or handling any of the containers with wet hands. (I’m a messy cook!) In our office I used small cards to create a cohesive and stylish look. You can also purchase labels online from Etsy, here are some labels for your PANTRY, and BATHROOM.

Organizing can create a clutter free space and save money! If all the items in your wardrobe are in great shape and you love them, then you probably won’t want to buy more clothing. When you have a birthday and need to wrap a present you already know you have tape and paper. No need to run out because you can’t find them. Making dinner you can clearly see all of your spices and dried goods. You don’t end up buying more spices, when really it was piled in the back of the cupboard. (I am totally guilty of this! When I recently organized our spices I had four bags of garlic powder!)

I know everyone is talking about organizing and getting tidy. The thing you have to think about is what do you need to organize? In your home what area has constant clutter or when are you frustrated because you can’t find what you are looking for? Those are the areas you have to look at, don’t follow what everyone else is doing. With this blog, I am not giving you a step by step on how to organize your home, I am simply hoping to inspire you to look at your space to what is not working. Do you have a room in mind?

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